Davies keen to make point

The Llanelli captain, frozen out by Wales coach Steve Hansen, is eager to use the Heineken Cup campaign as a showcase for his talents. Nick Cain reports

NO MATTER how dire the defeat, there was one mantra that never changed during Wales’ Six Nations whitewash. This Welsh squad, said one player after another, is the “happiest” they have been involved with.

Well, Leigh Davies has always been his own man, and it is a public relations line that the Llanelli captain is not prepared to toe as he contemplates his club’s Heineken Cup quarter-final against Perpignan on Friday.

Davies claims that Wales coach Steve Hansen came close to breaking him by turning him into a scapegoat for the defeat in Italy. Now, as he approaches the Scarlets’ most important match of the season, Davies thanks his lucky stars that he has Llanelli’s support, as well as the Heineken Cup as a showcase for his midfield gifts. Without them, he says, his season would be in freefall.